Nutrient transports in a Swedish estuary

Himmerfjärd is a Swedish estuary bordering on the Baltic. The estuary lacks astronomical tides and its circulation is driven by winds and freshwater runoff. Because of a tertiary sewage treatment plant located at its inner end, the estuary is becoming increasingly eutrophic. A field study was carried out for a 78-day period in late summer and early fall of 1977 to determine rates of nutrient transport and to construct nutrient budgets. Since physical parameters (current velocity, temperature, salinity, winds and water level changes) were measured more frequently than nutrients (phosphate, nitrate, nitrite and ammonium) it was necessary to develop a suitable method to calculate nutrient flux time series and net nutrient fluxes. Over the study period, Himmerfjärd imported phosphorus and exported nitrogen. Direction of nutrient fluxes and changes in flux direction were consistent with the structure of the baroclinic currents.     

Reef exploration in the East Sengkang Basin,Sulawesi, Indonesia

Reconnaissance seismic shot in 1971/72 showed a number of well defined seismic anomalies within the East Sengkang Basin which were interpreted as buried reefs. Subsequent fieldwork revealed that Upper Miocene reefs outcropped along the southern margin of the basin. A drilling programme in 1975 and 1976 proved the presence of shallow, gas-bearing, Upper Miocene reefs in the northern part of the basin. Seismic acquisition and drilling during 1981 confirmed the economic significance of these discoveries, with four separate accumulations containing about 750 × 10⁹ cubic feet of dry gas in place at an average depth of 700 m. Kampung Baru is the largest field and contains over half the total, both reservoir quality and gas deliverability are excellent. Deposition in the East Sengkang Basin probably started during the Early Miocene. A sequence of Lower Miocene mudstones and limestones unconformably overlies acoustic basement which consists of Eocene volcanics. During the tectonically active Middle Miocene, deposition was interrupted by two periods of deformation and erosion. Carbonate deposition became established in the Late Miocene with widespread development of platform limestones throughout the East Sengkang Basin. Thick pinnacle reef complexes developed in the areas where reef growth could keep pace with the relative rise in sea level. Most reef growth ceased at the end of the Miocene and subsequent renewed clastic sedimentation covered the irregular limestone surface. Late Pliocene regression culminated in the Holocene with erosion. The Walanae fault zone, part of a major regional sinistral strike-slip system, separates the East and West Sengkang Basins. Both normal and reverse faulting are inferred from seismic data and post Late Pliocene reverse faulting is seen in outcrop.     

Sources and sinks of sea salt in a newfoundland blanket bog

Over an oceanic peatland, the concentration of Na in fog averaged 38.1 mgl^?1 compared with 1.8 mgl^?1 in rain, resulting in a significant flux of mineral elements to the surface. Between 16 May and 20 June 1990 the average mass flux of Na to the bog surface by fog, rain, and dry deposition was 21.9, 10.4 and 7.0 mg m^?2 d^?1. There was little long-term storage of Na within the peatland system, where Na losses measured in stream runoff averaged 34.8 mg m² d^?1, and deep groundwater losses 4 mg m^?2 d^?1. Calcium and Mg were preferentially retained in the organic soil, whereas K was relatively mobile. Potassium tended to become concentrated in the unsaturated zone. Stream runoff had a consistently higher pH than groundwater, corresponding to higher Ca and Mg concentrations, which may have been from mineral sources in the headwater ponds. Otherwise, the stream water chemistry was closely related to groundwater in the upper layers of the peat deposit.     

Microboudin structures of piemontite along the Sambagawa metamorphic belt, Japan: implications for lateral variation of differential stress during regional metamorphism

Evidence is presented of a lateral variation in differential stress during metamorphism along a regional metamorphic belt on the basis of the proportion of microboudinaged piemontite grains (p) in a quartz matrix in metacherts. It is proposed that p is a practical indicator of relative differential stress. Analysis of 123 metacherts from the 800 km long Sambagawa metamorphic belt, Japan, reveals that p‐values range from < 0.01 to 0.7 in this region. Most samples from Wakayama in the mid‐belt area have p‐values of 0.4–0.6, whereas those from western Shikoku have p‐values of < 0.1. This difference cannot be explained by variations in metamorphic temperature, and is instead attributed to a regional, lateral variation in differential stress during metamorphism.     

Late Quaternary vegetation changes around Lake Rutundu,Mount Kenya,East Africa: evidence from grass cuticles,pollen and stable carbon isotopes

Woody, subalpine shrubs and grasses currently surround Lake Rutundu, Mount Kenya. Multiple proxies, including carbon isotopes, pollen and grass cuticles, from a 755‐cm‐long core were used to reconstruct the vegetation over the past 38 300 calendar years. Stable carbon‐isotope ratios of total organic carbon and terrestrial biomarkers from the lake sediments imply that the proportion of terrestrial plants using the C₄ photosynthetic pathway was greater during the Late Pleistocene than in the Holocene. Pollen data show that grasses were a major constituent of the vegetation throughout the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The proportion of grass pollen relative to the pollen from other plants was greatest at the last glacial maximum (LGM). Grass cuticles confirm evidence that C₄ grass taxa were present at the LGM and that the majority followed the cold‐tolerant NADP‐MEC₄ subpathway. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deformation styles as a key for interpreting glacial depositional environments

Lithostratigraphical and lithofacies approaches used to interpret glacial sediments often ignore deformation structures that can provide the key to environment of formation. We propose a classification of deformation styles based on the geometry of structures rather than inferred environment of formation. Five styles are recognised: pure shear (P), simple shear (S), compressional (C), vertical (V) and undeformed (U). These dictate the first letter of the codes; the remaining letters conveying the evidence. This information can be used to reconstruct palaeostress fields and to infer physical properties of sediments when they deformed. Individual structures are not diagnostic of particular environments but the suite of structures, their relative scale, stratigraphical relationships, and orientation relative to palaeoslopes and to palaeoice‐flow directions can be used to infer the environment in which they formed. This scheme is applied at five sites in west Wales. The typical succession is interpreted as subglacial sediments overlain by meltout tills, flow tills and sediment flows. Paraglacial redistribution of glacial sediments is widespread. Large‐scale compressional deformation is restricted to sites where glaciers readvanced. Large‐scale vertical deformation occurs where water was locally ponded near the ice margin. There is no evidence for glaciomarine conditions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Upper Pleistocene to Holocene sediments on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa (Italy)

The island of Lampedusa lies on the northern edge of the African continental shelf, but during some Quaternary marine lowstands it was joined to the African continent. The study and dating of the aeolian, alluvial, detrital sediments, calcareous crusts and speleothems have established that the climatic–environmental variations recorded on the island can be related chronologically to those known for northern Libya, Tunisia and the Italian peninsula. During the Last Glacial Maximum, phases of Saharan dust accumulation on Lampedusa occurred, and were coeval with dust accumulation in crater lakes and on high mountains in central‐southern Italy, and with phases of glacial advance in the Apennines and in the Alps. During the late Holocene, accumulation of Saharan dust on Lampedusa occurred but there was little accumulation of dust on the northern side of the Mediterranean Sea. With the new data from Lampedusa, it is possible to envisage two different scenarios of atmospheric circulation relating to the Last Glacial Maximum and to the late Holocene. During the Last Glacial Maximum, southerly atmospheric circulation brought rainfall to the southern slopes of the Alps and to the Apennines. During the late Holocene, a prevalent westerly atmospheric circulation became established in the northern Mediterranean. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Water transport from the North-east Irish Sea to western Scottish coastal waters: Further observations from time-trend matching of Sellafield radiocaesium

Radiocaesium isotopes, discharged into the North-east Irish Sea from the Sellafield (formerly Windscale) nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Cumbria, have been employed as flow monitors to update and extend the record of coastal water movement from the Irish Sea to the Clyde Sea area and, further north, to Loch Etive. The temporal trends in radiocaesium levels have been used to determine the extent of water mixing en route and to define mean advection rates. Flow conditions from the Irish Sea have changed considerably since the mid-1970s, the residence time of northern Irish Sea waters being ～12 months during 1978–1980 inclusive. Average transport times of four and six months are estimated for the Sellafield to Clyde and Sellafield to Etive transects respectively. Sellafield ¹³⁷Cs levels in seawater were diluted by factors of 27 and 50 respectively during current movement to the Clyde and Etive areas. The decrease in salinity-corrected ¹³⁷Cs concentrations between the Clyde and Etive suggests that dilution by Atlantic water occurs, the latter mainly entering the Firth of Lorne from the west. The majority (～94%) of the radiocaesium supply to Loch Etive enters the Firth of Lorne via the portion of the coastal current circulating west of Islay, only ～6% arriving via the Sound of Jura.     

NEMERTEANS OF ZHOUSHAN ISLANDS, EAST CHINA SEA COAST,CHINA Ⅰ.ENOPLA: DISTROMATOPHYNCHOCOELA: MONOSTILIFERA: EMPLECTONEMERTIDAE

Two nemerteans of the Zhoushan Islands, Paranemertes sinensis sp. nov. and P. peregrina, are reportedin this paper. P. sinensis sp. nov. has the body wall longitudinal musculature anteriorly divided,numerous eyes grouped into four clusters, two pairs of cephalic furrows, rhynchocoel 1/3 to 1/2 of fullbody length, cephalic glands well developed and posteriorly extending beyond the cerebral ganglia.precerebral septum absent, cerebral sense organs situated in front of brain, three pairs of nephridiopores,and 17-18 proboscis nerves.     

Spatial variability in the primary productivity in the East China Sea and its adjacent waters

Primary productivity in the East China Sea and its adjacent area was measured by the¹³C tracer method during winter, summer and fall in 1993 and 1994. The depth-integrated primary productivity in the Kuroshio Current ranged from 220 to 350 mgC m⁻²d⁻¹, and showed little seasonal variability. High primary productivity (above 570 mgC m⁻²d⁻¹) was measured at the center of the continental shelf throughout the observation period. The productivity at the station nearest to the Changjiang estuary exhibited a distinctive seasonal change from 68 to 1,500 mgC m⁻²d⁻¹. Depth-integrated primary productivity was 2.7 times higher in the shelf area than the rates at the Kuroshio Current. High chlorophyll-a specific productivity (mgC mgChl.-a⁻²d⁻¹) throughout the euphotic zone was mainly found in the shelf area rather than off-shelf area, probably due to higher nutrient availability and higher activity of phytoplankton at the subsurface layer in the shelf area.